Author: Reg Roberts

There are so many elements to this next try that make it stand out. Firstly, it was a match winning try. Secondly, it was a match winning try against the All Blacks and, thirdly, it was a match winning try against the All Blacks in which Stirling Mortlock was the man! There is something about that combination that we Aussie fans love. Perhaps it is because Stirlo is our go to man. He is the one who has done if for us in the past. Perhaps it is because he is our only real link to a day when we…

I am a bit of a believer in the Recency Factor when it comes to many things, but particularly when it comes to sporting memories. The Recency Factor is basically that you (or is it just I?) tend to overlook events or players that have happened more recently than others. So players that are long retired are remembered more favourably than current players. Maybe it is because that we tend to forget the retired player’s bad games, and the current player is under constant watch. Which brings us to our next try in the list.  I will cop to the…

Coming up with a list of the top tries of the decade was a tough one. What makes one try stand out from another? Is it individual brilliance we are gauging it on, or is it whole of team involvement? Rehearsed tries from a set piece or instinctive brilliance? Does a try against the All Blacks or in a final count for more than one against a touring nations’ third XV? Well frankly, for this list there is no hard and fast answer.  There is definitely a case of tries in big matches being a big factor. Players standing up…

What could be bigger than the others? Well, in my eyes, there is one event that preceded each of these. This event laid the ground work for each and every one of the above four to happen.  If this one didn’t happen, I am declaring that the World Cup would not have been the success it was. I don’t think we would have had the influx of league players and I don’t think John O’Neill would have been forced out of his position as ARU CEO. If that was the case, who knows what would have happened with Robbie? Perhaps…

In yesterday’s article we talked a lot about John O’Neill. His departure from the ARU came in at 5th place on his list, whilst his appointment of Robbie Deans came in at 4th.  It is fair to say that JO’N has been a fairly significant participant in Wallaby Rugby this decade, as both of today’s moments feature him big time as well. On the one hand this is what you would expect of a strong leader. Strong and significant decisions made in a confident and timely manner, to the benefit of the organisation as a whole. Although, perhaps it would…

We here at Green & Gold Rugby like what we do because we write the type of stuff we’d like to read ourselves.  This site is for rugby fans and we always aim to take a different slant on how we look at the sport we love. Whether that is through statistical analysis, historical recollections or just taking the piss. But what we like to do is try to talk rugby without the bullshit. Minus the clichés. Taking each article as it comes…oops, sorry. Well I reckon I can safely say, if you like the stuff on Green and Gold…

So we’ve talked about the players. We’ve talked about the games. Next week we will be getting into the top tries of the decade. But now? Now we’re going to look at some of the off-field moments of the decade. Ok, so not all specifically take place off the field, but the implications of them are more significant off the field than they are on. The premise of these list is that these are the tent pole moments for Australian Rugby over the decade. Those moments that shaped our sport in our country most significantly.  It has been a massive…

Ok ok so we’ve picked, or almost picked, the official Green & Gold Rugby Wallaby Team of the Decade? What the hell do we do now? Who are they going to play? Perhaps an ‘Alien XV’? But I could only think of Gareth “Alf” Thomas and Tana “Predator” Umaga as potential players. Fine, I’m happy to throw in Ma’a Nonu as some sort of replicant, but still it is still not enough to build a team on. So naturally we opt for a Rest of the World XV. But this is no ordinary Rest of the World XV. This is…

We finally reach the last position in the team, if only because of its numerical allocation.  For mine, this will be one of the most interesting ‘battles’ of the series. Now I expect most people to jump on the current incumbent (tautology?), but I think that is unfair on the other options proposed. Because, in the end, we’ve come up with three fairly decent candidates who were all highly regarded during their playing days.  And actually there is some half decent talent amongst the none loose head props we’ve picked this decade. Promising too that four of them are still…

Ok, some folk have suggested there are too many ‘givens’ in this series. Larkham. Gregan. Kefu.  So what about this one? I reckon it’s pretty damn difficult to come up with the best hooker of the decade.  I tell you what, it was hard enough to come up with the top three.  And I know I will cop some flak for some of the decisions made. Well one of them. Looking past that for the time being, there is some very decent quality in this list.

Ok, so where were we before we were so rudely interrupted? Ahh, that’s right. The Wallaby of the Decade.  As we step slowly into the unknown, please spare a thought for our back friends. In fact, let me assist. Why don’t you lads stare lovingly into this mirror, as the rest of us real men discuss some of the more important elements of the game. Ok? Ok…..good. I think they’re gone now. This has been an interesting period for Australian propping.  The 1990s started and ended with two of our greats – Tony Daly and Ewen McKenzie in 1990 and…

We now take the step into the unknown, somewhat. The tight forwards.  Now for many of you this will be a scary place.  Going into the unknown often is.  For those backs out there we are going to be discussing some fairly foreign concepts from now one in. Things like “aggression”, “work rate”, “physicality” and “toughness”.  Just keep breathing.  We will start with the locks, who are those tall guys you often see jumping in the line outs and at kick offs. Over the decade Australia has used twelve players in the starting team at lock. Interestingly less than who…

The Blind Side Flanker position has been an interesting one for Australia, not only over the last decade, but in the last few decades. Whereas we’ve usually gone for out and out poachers at Open Side; Strong running Number 8s; Ball playing inside centres, and big kicking fullbacks, we don’t seem to have tied down a ‘typical’ Blind Side Flanker role. Is it the 3rd (sometimes 4th) lineout option? The work horse? The 2nd flyer? The ball runner? We’ve converted locks, open sides and number 8s. Even a centre. But the pure amount of players used might indicate that we…

Wow. Only five players have worn the Number 7 Wallaby jersey in the last 123 tests.  That’s quite a record.  It is the same sort of record as scrum half and in both scenarios the position is dominated by a test centurion. The list of Open Side Flankers for the decade, and their starts, are: George Smith (70 starts), Phil Waugh (39), David Wilson (7), David Pocock (6), David Croft (1). What a high quality list.  The fact that David Croft only started in one test throughout this period is a fair indication as to the quality that was in…

Finally! On to the REAL men.  The pigs. The pack. The piano movers. The forwards! Starting at the back of the scrum we consider the top Number 8 of the decade, and I reckon it is a bit of a battle. There are, realistically, three stand out candidates and each have had moments of superb form. But each have also fallen off the pace and not been as consistent as we would have liked. But to the list, in the 123 tests since 2000 to 2009 we have had the following ten players wear the Wallaby Number 8 jersey:

Unsurprisingly in a decade in which the Wallabies most capped player played scrumhalf, there were only six men who played at the base of the scrum for the Wallabies from 2000-2009.   These players were: George Gregan (81 starts), Luke Burgess (18), Sam Cordingly (8), Will Genia (7), Matt Giteau (6), Chris Whitaker (3) Picking a top three scrumhalves of the decade has proven quite difficult. Obviously the options are limited, but with one player starting in basically two thirds of the tests, the rest shared out amongst the remaining four players, there is limited opportunities to weigh up the challengers. …

From the period 2000-2009, just nine different men have worn the Wallaby Ten jersey in a test match.  They are: Steve Larkham (69); Matt Giteau (31); Elton Flatley (6); Matt Rogers (6); Berrick Barnes (5); Rod Kafer (3); Nathan Grey (1); Sam Norton-Knight (1); Julian Huxley (1) Interestingly if you discount Bernie Larkham and Gits, then the cumulative starts of the rest of the players

In trying to find the ‘next Tim Horan’, seventeen different men have worn the Wallaby Number Twelve jersey in a test match from 2000-2009.  They are: Matt Giteau (29),Berrick Barnes (14),Nathan Grey (11), Elton Flatley (11), Stirling Mortlock (9),Daniel Herbert (9), Morgan Turinui (9), ), Adam Ashley-Cooper (5), Quade Cooper (5), Jason Little (4), Steve Kefu (4), Matt Rogers (4) Rod Kafer (2), Steve Larkham (2), Scott Staniforth (2), Timana Tahu (2), Tim Horan (1). We lounge room experts from G&GR fought long and hard about this one, with a number of names considered. In the end, I am the…

Are we getting the hang of these now? Good, let’s keep them coming.  From the period 2000-2009, eleven different men have worn the Wallaby Number Thirteen jersey in a test match. They are: Stirling Mortlock (52); Daniel Herbert (20); Matt Burke (11); Ryan Cross (9); Lote Tuqiri (8); Morgan Turinui (6); Adam Ashley-Cooper (6); Mat Rogers (4); Digby Ioane (3); Graeme Bond (2); Clyde Rathbone (2). As we return to a specialist position, its back to picking the top three candidates for our Wallaby Team of the Decade.

What defines a “Top Wallaby Match”? Is it the spectacle? The Wallaby’s performance? The actual contest? The result? It’s tough to define, and I won’t do it here. Suffice to say I considered each of these aspects when trying to come up with this list.  I think it’s unsurprising to say that most of these games came in the first half of the decade.  Is that harsh on this current generation? I certainly considered our performance against the Boks in 2007 when our pack really manned up in the face of adversity. Later that year I thought our game against…